Andrey Prudkovskii - Trilogy of Dhana and the Earth. Book one. End of the world

Her first birth was not quick, but Alexander scolded me in every respite. And finally, I realized – how stupid I am! – It was she who drove away evil spirits from me and from her future child.

Alexandra, the birth of Radek in the forest in the snow.

Finally, a son was born!!! I bit through the umbilical cord and took it in my hands! My little one, the son of Ra and the demoness, is Radem. I was happy. And she smiled. I wiped my son with soft white snow, he cried, then smiled. And then I felt him in my thoughts. He claimed his rights. Without a word he said:

“You are mine!”

“You are mine too! – I also mentally answered.”

Alexandra slowly returned to the car. I gave her a son, rolled a cloak in the trunk, and we drove home.

The snow stopped and the road sparkled with a pink dawn. Alexandra was dozing, and on her breast, smacking, our little miracle slept. Maybe a future demon, but rather a real Dhana man, because he looks so much like me!

From an Alexandra’s letter to her sister Masha

Mashutka!

You can jump from happiness, but better in the garden, and not in the room! I had a son – you became an aunt!

I decided to name him as my husband calls him – Radek. You think probably, it’s a strange name. It’s nothing, I think so too. But still I have to respect him, although at first I wanted to kill him.

I will describeeverything in detail. I was going to give birth in March and therefore in the last days of February I did not think about anything. And suddenly, in the morning of February 29, I feel – it begins. I went to the phone, and it was silent. Raisa from special services one day explained me that all our conversations were tapped, so that it was possible to turn on the interference in time if the conversation turned to something wrong. This work is difficult and responsible, and at night the attendants want to sleep, so they turn off the phones of their wards in order to rest an hour or two until the authorities see. I do not blame them – I would do the same.

But what should I do?! With difficulty I explained to him that I should be taken to the hospital. I also had to explain what a maternity hospital was, but he seemed to understand. But how, I think, will he cope with my car, what if there are no cars in his Marazia, but only camels? No, he did well!

Then it rolled over me – I lost consciouness. I woke up when the car was waddling along some gully. But he reassured me, he says, we’ll come now.

And so he brought me to the place. Do you think in the hospital? No! To the place of our first meeting with him! Into the dense forest!!!

According to some of his stupid Marazian customs, giving birth, you see, is supposed to be at the place of conception! They can do it there – it’s warm there. And how it could be done in our country? Snow and five degrees below zero.

And so I gave birth on a cloak from a seat, and on top a sheet for cleanliness. However, I was not cold. This work is so hard! In the intervals between contractions, I reviled him for nothing. But he didn’t pay attention, even helped me a bit, adopted a child, tied an umbilical cord, wiped it with snow. And immediately gave him that stupid name. It sounded somehow differently in his gibberish language, but it seemed to me like Radek.

Morning after childbirth. Sunrise over the road.

Then he drove us back in the car. I warmed up, calmed down, and thought that my Rashka was not too guilty. How could he know about our customs? He did as was customary for their tribe. And the fact that I trusted him was completely my own fault. Anyway, it all ended well. The baby is healthy, and so am I. Maybe in the hospital there are all kinds of harmful microbes, and even more of them than in the snow in the forest.

So everything is fine with us now. I rested a couple of weeks – and again to work. In the morning I feed, decant the remainder, and while I am not at home, he feeds the child once. At lunch I come to feed and decant again, and there it’s not far from the end of the working day!

But here is what I dream about! For a long time I, Masha, was not at home. I think now with a child I will definitely be given a great vacation in the summer, and I will come. And I’ll bring all my dear ones to meet you.

See you! Your happy little sister, Alexandra.

Raa’s Notes on Life in the Land of Demons

Mysterious are customs in the land of demons. Everyone, except children and the elderly, are obliged to go to some kind of “work” every day. I tried to understand why this “work” was so attractive, that for the sake of it you should leave a hungry crying baby, but I did understand – neither from my Alexandra’s explanations, nor from her thoughts. Maybe she herself did not understand this.

Without her, my son cried, but I knew what to do, because I saw how our women do it. It was necessary to introduce the baby to the four truths of the nutrition of a real person. My demoness was not a real person, and I had to do it myself. Kissing my son, every time I passed him a drop of my saliva. Of course, this was not a complete reproduction of the rite of transmitting the four TRUTHS to the child, since I was not a nursing mother, but in the end, I managed, and the boy stopped crying. After becoming acquainted with the four TRUTHS, a child can eat everything that is eatable.

Indeed, symbiotic bacteria that digest any food have been discovered in the organisms of the inhabitants of Dhana. These bacteria are close to those that live in the stomachs of our termites. Studies have shown that the transfer of bacteria should be carried out in childhood, otherwise the state of symbiosis of bacteria with humans does not occur.

So I was able to feed my son with the same that I ate, though I had to chew it beforehand, since he had no teeth.

I didn’t say anything about this to Alexandra – I was afraid that ignorantly I violated certain demonic laws. And I was right! Once I caught her thought that up to a year a baby should not be given any food other than mother’s milk or some special demonic foods.

But the main thing!!! My son and I were always mentally together. His thoughts, his dreams were mine, my thoughts and dreams were his. By the age of three months, he already knew some words of our native language of Dhana! And by five we already spoke – and not just mentally.

Alexandra came tired and was surprised that the child was quiet and joyful, never crying. And he had no time to cry, because he was constantly conducting a “quiet” conversation with his dad…

The heat has come. Alexandra changed her mind, stopped going to “work”, and we went by car to her sister. The sister lived in another place, far from our home. Alexandra sat in front – at the wheel, and behind – me with our son. It occurred then that the road demon caught us: I heard a whistle, the car stopped, and Alexandra said in fear:

“What shall we do now?”

“Nothing,” I say, “I’ll hide!”

One moment – and I turned into a cube. Alexandra went up to the road demon, so angry. I wandered how she will cope with him? He talked to her, then looked into the car and barked:

“Why your child is not attached, and even lies on a chair?!”

I immediately hugged my son and depicted rope with my hands. The demon looked again:

“Sorry, attached, but not by the rules! Kindly remove the child from the chair! Put him on the seat lower, then tie him already!”